


Welcome to the Underground -Year One

by orphan_account



Series: Welcome to the Underground [1]
Category: Undertale (Game)
Genre: (is that a thing? He has leg braces that Alphys made for him and idk what else to call it), Asriel is a Star Wars nerd, Disabled!Mettaton, F/F, F/M, Feminine!Transboy!Mettaton, Flowey is Asriel's angry tiny yellow cat, Human AU, Intersex Frisk, M/M, Mettaton is a complete mess but papyrus is helping, Nonbinary Napstablook, Other, Sans isn't depressed so shut up, There are too many tags I'm bad at this, Toriel fuckin hates Asgore but I don't so he'll get lots of love some way or another, Trigger warning - self-harm mention, Undyne is very protective of Alphys and also very gay for her, alphys is going through some shit so that's why those are there, and vice versa, don't judge my ships, nonbinary chara, superpower au (is that a thing??), trigger warning - suicide mention
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-09
Updated: 2016-09-25
Packaged: 2018-07-16 15:46:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 7,009
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7274134
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>OFFICIALLY DISCONTINUED.<br/>Thank you so much for all your love. Stay determined.</p><p>This is basically an Au where everybody's human, but it's like a world where some people are born with superpowers, but they don't always show up at first?? Anyway there's a whole boarding school for kids from literal kindergarten to senior year, to learn how to control their powers. Everybody's here and has a power, basically.<br/>--<br/>On hiatus. My only ideas are angsty and alphys-centric, and I may be losing interest in Undertale at an alarming rate.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> *(Smells like hand sanitizer.)

Hello.  
My name is Frisk. I am in my last year of middle school, and I can turn back time.  
Maybe you've heard my name before. I assure you, I am not the Frisk you know, or not quite.  
Perhaps I look like your Frisk. Does your Frisk have dark hair that covers their eyes, cropped at the shoulders? Does your Frisk live in a foster home due to their single mother dying of cancer when they were four? Is your Frisk mute, and neither boy nor girl, but also both?  
Perhaps.  
But I doubt your Frisk lives in a world of humans, and has started attending a pre-K through high school establishment where humans with powers like mine learn to control, use and develop these powers.   
Do they?  
Likely not.  
You are probably wondering why I wrote this.  
Simple.  
I want people to know my story. No, not just my story. Our story. The story of the family I found when a sweep through my neighborhood discovered my powers, and officials came to bring me to a year-round boarding school, nicknamed the Underground for its supposed need for secrecy.  
I made friends there. I found a family there.  
It's like a second home.  
It always will be.  
You want to know my story?  
Then read on.  
Good luck.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> *(Smells like a petting zoo.)

I'm not going to explain the officials coming to take me away from my foster home.  
I don't want to.  
They weren't mean. But I had finally felt comfortable there. It was the first foster home I'd really settled into for three years.  
They gave me a week to pack up my things and say my goodbyes.  
I packed up my things in three days.  
I waited until they came to take me to sign 'See you later,' to the one other kid and my foster parents, Annete and Harley.  
Not goodbye.  
Never goodbye.  
I went there on a train. Kind of like Harry Potter, I guess. I tried to imagine that I lived in that world—that the two best friends I would ever make would come and sit down with me any moment.  
But nobody came.  
You'd think I was the kind of person who was okay with anything. But being alone… it sucks. It really does. I thrive on love and affection.  
But there I sat, gazing out the window, silent tears rolling down my cheeks—not because I was being taken. Not really.  
Because there was no one who cared enough to sit down and say, "It's okay. I'm a little scared too."

When we arrived at the Underground, I grabbed my bags and sped off the train. I tripped.  
Someone caught me.  
"Wa ha ha! Careful there, little one. Don't wanna be skinnin' up yer knee, d'ya?"  
I shook my head and looked up at my rescuer, who had not-so-roughly shoved me back to my feet. He was what my foster mom called a 'senior,' with a long white beard and what looked like one of those safari hats perched on his head, and a matching outfit with a magnifying glass sticking out of the pocket. His eyes squinted at me in a not unkind way, the tan skin on his face wrinkled with smile lines.  
He stuck his hand out. "The name's Gerson! People 'round here used to call me the Hammer of Justice, but I'm a bit old for bein' a hero at this point."  
I cautiously took his hand and shook it, then grabbed my phone out of my pocket and opened my text-to-voice app, typing quickly.  
"Hello, Gerson. It's nice to meet you." an automated voice say from the speakers. "My name is Frisk. Unfortunately I am mute, hence why I am using this text-to-voice app. It's a little inconvenient sometimes, but there's no need to worry about me."  
Gerson raised an eyebrow. "I see. Well, ya better get goin'. You don't wanna use up the couple o' days they give you for settling in wanderin' around the train stop, d'you?"  
I shook my head, smiling, and waved to Gerson as I headed with the throng of other kids to the looming campus before us. Checking my phone, I noticed it was 4:13 PM. I pondered turning back time to avoid tripping, then decided it was too much effort—and besides, now if I ever saw Gerson in the halls, I could give him a little wave. I smiled even wider at the thought.  
One of the officials guided us to the dorms. Thankfully they weren't single-gender, or I might have had a hard time finding a place to sleep. The woman told us that the dorm rooms were for the kids in sixth grade and above, and had two to four beds—"No need to share," she told us sternly—before guiding to younger kids to their sleeping quarters.  
We wandered around for a bit, looking for our names on the doors. Finally I found mine, labelled with two other names.  
\---  
ROOM 72  
FRISK WELLSTONE  
ASRIEL DREEMURR  
CHARA DREEMURR  
\---  
I stared at the door for a moment. 'Siblings?' I signed, forgetting for a moment there was no one around. all the other kids had found their dorms. I sighed and opened my text-to-voice app back up in preparation. Then, with my free hand, I turned the door handle, pushed open the door, and stepped inside.  
I was greeted by the sight of two kids who looked absolutely nothing alike.  
One of them, a boy, had white-blond hair and dark, but warm eyes. His skin was slightly tanned—he was probably an outdoorsy type—and a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth, pulling even wider when he saw me. He jumped to his feet from where he'd been sitting on his bed (which I noticed had Star Wars sheets) and loped over to me. Then, to my astonishment, he began signing.  
'Hello!' his hands said, 'Are you Frisk? Our mother Toriel is the headmistress of the school and she told us you were mute. Good thing she taught us ASL when we were kids, right?'  
I simply stared at him. I wouldn't have been able to say anything even if my vocal cords worked properly. Instead, I swallowed and nodded. Attempting a smile, I put away my phone and signed, 'No more text-to-speech app.'  
He grinned. "Great!" he said, with his mouth this time, his voice soft but excited. "We've been pretty pumped for you to get here, right Chara?" He turned to look at the other kid. They had light brown, messy hair cut to a similar length of my own, and their skin was much paler than their brother's. The only splash of color on their face other than their slightly bloodshot maroon eyes were their pink cheeks. Slowly they looked up from the book they were reading—I couldn't see the title—and their eyes landed on me. I couldn't help but shiver slightly at the intensity of their gaze.  
"Yeah." Chara said, and their voice, though seemingly sincere, was tired. "Super excited. I'm Chara, and that's my brother Asriel." They seemed to consider their words for a moment at the confused look on my face. "Sorry. Adopted brother. His mom got me out of the system."  
'System?' I signed.  
"Foster care. She adopted me when I was five. You're a foster kid too, right?"  
I nodded, deciding not to ask why they had been in foster care.  
Chara nodded, and we all simply stood in silence for a while. Finally, I couldn't take it anymore.  
'What are you reading?' I asked Chara. They looked surprised for a moment, then held the book up so I could see it. "It's called the Tomorrow Code by Brian Falkner. It's about these kids who somehow figure out that their future selves are sending them messages through space-time to warn them about something."  
"They've only read it about fifty times." Asriel teased gently.  
"Says the Star Wars nerd."  
Asriel lifted his chin. "At least I know I'm trash."  
I smiled and walked over to the ladder leading up to the bunk bed above Chara's bed. Climbing up it, I rapped on the wood railing. The two of them looked up, and I smugly signed, 'Dibs.'  
"I don't think you know how dibs works." Chara said, grinning nonetheless. "Also, don't fall, dork."  
"Dork?" Asriel snorted. "Since when do you call people dork?"  
"Well, they are!" Chara said indignantly, their pink cheeks darkening.  
I rapped on the railing again.  
'They're not wrong,' I informed Asriel. 'I'm the ruler of the dorks.'  
He raised an eyebrow. "Good to know."

We spent the rest of the evening joking and getting to know each other while I set up my part of the room. I learned that Asriel had the power to make plants grow (hence the small golden flower he kept on the windowsill), as well as the somewhat cheesy ability to shoot little rainbow lasers out of his fingers, which he informed me had been discovered in a very recent and kind of painful accident. Chara had the power to make any room pitch-black, as well as being able to feed off other people's negative emotions to become temporarily physically stronger. They expressed their disgust at this second power vehemently, and I didn't know what to say to make them feel better about it.  
We agreed that Asriel and Chara would show me around the school tomorrow and introduce me to some of their friends—most of whom were one or two grades above us—since it would be a Sunday.  
We went to bed at almost 11:30, and my first thought before I fell asleep was one of hopefulness.  
'Maybe it won't be so lonely here after all.'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoo! Two chapters in one day!  
> I'll probably crank out a few chapters every day, but I'll try not to post them all at once. Maybe I'll set up a posting schedule and get ahead for updating so I can have more free time. To write more chapters. Yeah.  
> Also, I referenced this awesome post-pacifist Undertale ask blog called AskFriskAndCompany on tumblr. Check them out, seriously.  
> alsothetomorrowcodeisoneofmyfavoritebooksofalltimwandsinceiactalotlikecharaithoughttheymighgenjoyitaswellokaybye


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> *(Smells like… tomato paste?)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alternative title: We Talk A Lot About a Certain Superstar

Asriel woke me up at about 9:15 by poking me hesitantly. I grumbled and burrowed deeper into my blankets. Hey, I'm not a morning person.  
There was silence for a while.  
"IT'S A TRAP!" Admiral Ackbar suddenly screamed, sounding somewhat tinny. I bolted up in my bed and almost hit my head. I noticed with some dissatisfaction that Asriel was giggling madly and hurriedly pausing the Star Wars movie which had been playing at full blast from his computer, though my anger dissipated when Chara slapped his shoulder and hissed, "I told you not to do that! Didn't I tell you that?"  
Asriel only laughed harder.

'So what kind of music do you guys like?' I signed as we walked through the halls, looking for Asriel and Chara's friends.   
"I like Porter Robinson and Madeon and stuff like that." Asriel said happily. "Sometimes J-POP."  
Chara snorted. I looked at them questioningly. 'What about you, Chara?'  
"Oh, me? Well, I like—"  
"Actual Cannibal Shia Labouf, the Shrek soundtrack. Once I caught them listening to—"  
"Asriel!" Chara snapped, cheeks absolutely red.  
Asriel giggled, and I smiled. Chara cleared their throat and continued.  
"I like Twenty Øne Pilots, the Front Bottoms, Panic! At The Disco. That kind of stuff."  
I frowned, then slowly signed, 'You're very emo, aren't you?'  
Asriel burst into laughter—several of the other students gave him some odd looks as we passed—and Chara scowled.  
"Frisk. Please die."  
'Definitely emo. Or maybe punk?'  
Even Chara had to laugh at that, and I did too. Soundlessly. Eh, same thing.   
We were interrupted by a loud female voice from behind us.  
"Hey, move it, punks!" A tall girl with tanned skin, bright red hair (probably dyed??) and an eyepatch charged past us, and I probably would have fallen over if Chara hadn't grabbed my arm.   
"UNDYNE! WAIT FOR YOUR FRIEND, THE GREAT PAPYRUS!" An even taller boy with curly black hair and a scarf almost as red as the girl's hair zoomed by. Literally. Zoomed. It must have been too much for poor Chara, who whispered, "Nyoom," before collapsing into giggles.  
Asriel came back to his senses and yelped, "Undyne! Hey, Undyne, wait!"  
The girl skidded to a halt. Her friend Papyrus almost crashed into her and she gave him a dirty look before turning and jogging back towards me, Asriel, and Chara.  
"This better be important, you little twerp," she growled, but there was a gleam of good humor in her single green eye, so I figured she couldn't be all bad.   
Asriel pointed at me. "This is Frisk. They're our new roommate."  
'Hi, U-N-D-I-N-E.' I signed, spelling out her name.  
Asriel frowned at me. "Her name has a 'Y' in it. But either way," he continued, turning to address Undyne, who looked a bit confused, "They say hi."  
"Are they…?" Undyne pointed at her ear.  
"Oh, no." Chara said quickly, "They're mute."  
"Oh." Undyne looked at me for a moment, then grinned. "Well, it's nice to meet ya, punk." She offered her hand and I shook it.  
"UNDYNE? WHO IS THIS?" The loud guy with the scarf was now peeking over Undyne's shoulder, apparently having been distracted for the last ten seconds. "AND WHY IS THEIR HAIR COVERING THEIR EYES? DOESN'T THAT MAKE IT HARD TO SEE?"  
'Hello, P-A-P-Y-R-U-S. My name is Frisk. It's nice to meet you.' I told him while Asriel translated. The confusion in Papyrus's eyes was replaced by delight. "OH, WOWIE! ARE YOU THE TIME-TRAVELER THAT CHARA WAS BRAGGING ABOUT A FEW DAYS AGO?"  
"Time-traveler?" Undyne repeated, sounding confused. Then she got a look like she'd just remembered the future date of her own death. "Aw, shi—I mean crap, I gotta go guys. See ya later, punks!" She turned on her heel and ran back down the hall.  
"SEE YOU LATER, UNDYNE!" Papyrus called down the hall, earning several dirty looks from other students. He turned back to us and said, "CHARA, YOU WERE BRAGGING ABOUT A TIME-TRAVELER WHO WAS GOING TO BE YOUR ROOMMATE A FEW DAYS AGO. IS FRISK—"  
"sup bro."  
"SANS! YOU ALWAYS APPEAR AT THE WORST TIMES!" Papyrus yelled at a short guy with blue eyes and a slightly oversized blue hoodie who had seemingly appeared out of nowhere.   
"eh, what can i say? that's just how i roll."  
"I-" Papyrus paused. "WAS THAT A PUN?"  
"chill bro, i gotta take a break sometime. no, it wasn't a pun."  
"Shouldn't you be working?" Chara said suddenly, glaring at Sans hostilely. "Like, monitoring the halls?"  
"hush. like i said, i gotta take breaks sometime. if i were you i'd let go of that little, ah, grudge against me."  
"I'll let go when you stop spending nights with—"  
"Whoa! Okay!" Asriel tugged at Chara's sleeve nervously, drawing them away from the brothers. "Uh, we're gonna leave now? We still need to introduce Frisk to a ton of people. Oh, that reminds me. Sans, Frisk. Frisk, Sans. Okay, later, bye!" He gestured wildly to me to follow him, and I waved a quick goodbye to the brothers before tearing after the siblings.  
Chara was fuming when I got within hearing range of them. "—thinks he's soooo great, like he has the right to treat me like a first grader just because he's with—"   
"Let's not think about that," Asriel soothed them, patting their shoulder nervously. "Maybe we'll run into Mettaton."  
Chara groaned. "I don't wanna talk to Mettaton," they mumbled, "He's even more arrogant than Sans. If we're going to hang out with someone who's obsessed with themself it could at least be Papyrus."  
Deciding not to ask about Chara's grudge with Sans, I tapped Asriel on the shoulder and signed, 'Who's M-E-T-T-A-T-O-N?"  
Asriel quickly explained that Mettaton was a somewhat famous teenaged boy who'd been in several movies as a child. He'd been diagnosed with cerebral palsy at 12, effectively shutting down his dreams of becoming the main character of a blockbuster movie someday—until he was found to have electrical powers, as well as the ability to manipulate metal with his mind. He was sent to the Underground, and there he met Alphys, a clever but shy girl who'd been sent there more for her scientific expertise than her rather weak electrical powers. Sympathetic to his problem, she took the time to make rather complicated leg braces for him, and they had been friends ever since. Chara interjected at one point, saying rather spitefully that for all the trouble he'd been through, his ego had somehow only gotten larger. The gaggle of fans that followed him around everywhere didn't really help.   
"The only reason he ever talks to us is because his cousin Napstablook thinks we're nice," Chara finished.  
I frowned. 'Are you? Nice to him, I mean.'  
Chara looked deeply hurt. "Frisk, you know I would never be mean to an antisocial nobody. Also, it's them. They're a they."  
'I see.' I pulled out my phone and looked at the clock. 'It's almost lunchtime.'  
"Finally!" Chara groaned, grabbing me and Asriel and beginning to drag us along the hall. "I'm starving."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I woke up late today and managed to finish this after playing a bit of Overwatch and sucking ass at it :^) Mei is the only character I'm remotely good at playing but it's okay because she's my daughter tbh


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> *(Smells like glitter.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THIS TOOK FOREVER IM REALLY SORRY OHMYGISG  
> I love Alphys with my heart and soul why am I putting her through this  
> Also this is kinda short lmao sorry sorry I was lacking inspiration

Chara dragged us to a table and sat us down before dashing off again. I looked at Asriel questioningly. He shrugged.  
"They claim to know which foods being served are the best. So usually I just let them grab the food for me. They've actually got pretty good tastes, so I trust them."  
I nodded and started asking what kind of foods Chara normally got, because reasons, but was interrupted by a loud voice behind us.  
"Asriel, darling, who's your new friend?"  
I twisted around in sync with Asriel to see a tall boy with black hair cut just beyond his chin and styled to sweep over his right eye. He wore lipgloss, eyeshadow, blush, and a hundred other makeups that I couldn't name on his face, a black-and-pink glittery crop top, black leggings, and hot pink high-heeled boots. Honestly, the only thing that convinced me of his gender was his voice, which was strangely deep and elegant.  
"Hi, Mettaton!" Asriel said, waving even though Mettaton was literally five feet away. I wondered for the fortieth time since meeting him how anyone could snap at him and not regret it 0.3 seconds later. "This is Frisk! They're new here. Also they're mute."  
Mettaton turned his gaze, which seemed to boast purple-tinted contact lenses ("For the aesthetic," he told me later), to me.   
"Well, aren't you just the sweetest little thing!" he exclaimed. "Those bangs give you an air of mystery, while also granting the image of pure, untainted innocence. I love it! It's a shame about your voice—I can just tell you'd be an amazing singer, though I suppose you can't help it."  
I blushed and smiled at him, then dug out my phone and turned on my text-to-voice app, typing quickly.  
"Thank you," the automated voice paused, seemingly unsure how to continue, then said, "M-E-T-T-A-T-O-N. I like your outfit."  
Mettaton beamed, and likely would have continued gushing over one thing and the next if Chara's voice hadn't sounded behind us.  
"Greetings, Mettabutt."  
The teenaged boy seemed to mentally prepare himself before saying, "Hello, Chara darling. Isn't that the same thing you wore yesterday? Do you need help going through your wardrobe, perhaps?"  
Chara stared warily at him. "I'm good. I suppose you're going to sit with us and babble about your new product line?"  
"I don't babble, darling. And there's no need to be so passive-aggressive. If you're jealous—"  
"Whoa, whoa, okay, let's all just sit down and talk like normal, friendly people, huh? Sound good?" Asriel interrupted nervously.  
Mettaton sat down next to Asriel and looked at Chara. "Well, darling? What'll it be?"  
Chara stared at Mettaton for a long moment. Then, for just a second, their gaze flicked to me. I stared back curiously.  
"Fine." they mumbled. They say down and stared at their food, barely picking at it as Mettaton continued talking with me and Asriel. I tried to drag them into the conversation several times, but they mumbled an answer to any question asked without looking up.  
We were interrupted at some point when Mettaton glanced up and smiled widely.  
"Alphys, darling!" he crowed. "Come sit with us! Just for a moment? I'd like to introduce someone. Please?"  
A short and somewhat chubby girl I hadn't noticed walking around with a tray of food cringed slightly at the noise before walking slowly towards us. Her skin was pale and her blonde hair was pulled into a messy bun. Her brown eyes darted around nervously behind her glasses, and she kept tugging at the sleeves of her oversized green hoodie, pulling them up around her wrists when they started to fall. I also noticed she had freckles.  
"There you go, darling," Mettaton said kindly as she cautiously sat down. He patted me on the shoulder and said, "This is Frisk. They're new here, and mute. You know a bit of ASL, don't you?"  
Alphys shook her head. "N-no, you're mistaken. I n-never learned ASL. I m-mean, I know 'no' and 'yes,' but other than t-that…" she trailed off, seeming to shrink into her hoodie.  
"Oh, no worries, darling!" Mettaton assured her. "Asriel and Chara know it just fine. And Frisk has a text-to-voice app as well. Aren't they just adorable?"  
Alphys gave me a hesitant smile. I noticed the bags under her eyes and gave her a big, happy, reassuring smile. I didn't type anything into my app, but I tried to send a message: It's okay. Nobody's going to hurt you.  
I thought I saw her smile get bigger. Just a little bit.  
"Yo, Alph! Over here!" Undyne's loud voice burst through the air. Alphys immediately turned and her eyes lit up behind her glasses. She grabbed her tray, waved goodbye, and hurried over to where the redhead sat at a mostly deserted table, accompanied only by Papyrus. Undyne gave her a kiss on the cheek when she sat down and draped her arm around Alphys's shoulders casually. Alphys giggled, and Papyrus grinned at the two of them. I glanced at Mettaton, curious, and he explained, "They've been dating for about seven months now. Aren't they just adorable? It's a shame you didn't get here before then—honestly, it was so obvious they liked each other. Tripping over words, blushing like mad. It was like a show everyday. Not to say it wasn't a bit of a relief when they finally sorted that out." His eyes grew distant as he gazed toward their table. "I don't much like Undyne," he admitted, "But she makes Alphys happy, which is a feat in itself. Alphys is…" He sighed. "Well, it's not my place to tell you about that. If, and not when, she's comfortable enough around you to tell you, I'm sure she will. She's gotten better at that."  
I nodded and smiled.  
God, I loved this school.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just realized it's physically impossible to carry a tray of food and pull up your sleeves at the same time why am I like this  
> ALSO!!! Thank you guys for all the compliments and kudos and comments and just… AGH!!! I never thought my fic would get anywhere near this popular!! So!!!! Again!!!!!!! Thank you!!!!!!!!!!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> *(Smells like a fight!)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> whaaaat?? two chapters in two days???? nooo waaaaaaay hahha ha  
> I have no life

By pure luck, my first school day at the Underground was what everybody called a jousting day, even though nobody really jousted.  
Officially, it was called an arena day, and it was basically a day for testing the offensive capabilities of our powers.  
I had no idea what on earth I could do with turning back time, but I was almost vibrating with excitement by the time me, Asriel, and Chara had gotten to the arena. They had explained on the way that some powered humans' abilities seemed geared more towards combat than anything else, but with a little creative thinking, anyone could win the title of Fighter of the Month. The arena battles would continue throughout the week, but the official winner was always chosen the first day, so the rest of the week was optional and just for fun. Chara joked that only a few people had died so far this year, and Asriel shoved them so they went sprawling on the sidewalk, though he was smiling a little bit. Chara just laughed and brushed themself off.  
There was a lot of happy and excited chattering going on all around the arena, as well as people taking bets on the fighters. Apparently you had to sign up at the start of the month to actually fight, so I wouldn't be doing anything.  
The arena itself was something like a football stadium, maybe a little smaller and rounder. The ground was bare and hard, but the seats for those who were just watching were comfortable and soft. The ceiling might as well be nonexistent, only a few twisted and burned panels clinging loosely to the top of the walls, likely caused by fighters getting too excited. Scorch marks and huge dents riddled the wall that kept the seats a safe distance from the violence as well.  
Just as we took our seats, Chara already tapping impatiently on the arm of their chair, a tall woman walked into the middle of the arena. She looked exactly like Asriel, right down to the button nose, and I realized this must be Toriel, headmistress of the school and mother of Chara and Asriel.  
She spoke, and her voice boomed around the building, echoing off the walls. I could just see what looked like a mic on the side of her head. The students' chattering immediately died down, and there was a bit of a ruckus as latecomers scrambled for their seats.  
"Welcome, all of you, to the monthly jousting day!" she said, smiling, and the stadium erupted into cheers. I thought I saw a hotdog fly through the air. She waited for them to quiet before speaking again.  
"As I'm sure you all remember, last month's arena fights were ultimately won by Undyne Tyler, for the… what is it, fourth time now? Yes, congratulations to her yet again."  
A good half of the students in the viewing wings cheered again, while some opted to boo instead. Evidently she wasn't completely well-liked.  
"But it is a new month, and a new chance for any one of you to step forward and claim the title of Fighter of the Month!" Toriel continued, and the whole stadium of students made its approval heard. I would have cheered if I could, but I settled for waving my arms wildly, Asriel whooping in my ear and Chara near screaming.  
"For our first fighters," Toriel said, "Please welcome Pyrope and Froggit!"  
Several fights went by without anyone I knew. Then—  
"And now, Mettaton Neoex and Undyne Tyler!"  
Mettaton swaggered onto the floor, head held high with a smirk on his lips. I could almost hear his high-tech leg braces clicking and whirring as he moved. Meanwhile, Undyne charged forward, a grin on her face, a glint in her eye, and her red hair flying behind her like a banner. They stopped several feet away from each other. I could see that words were exchanged. It would seem that Mettaton was very good at making people (Undyne) even more willing to beat him into a pulp than before, because she thrust a hand in front of her, fingers outstretched as if reaching for something. The air seemed to hum, and it got to the point where my ears felt like they were going to pop, and a glowing, blue, kind of translucent spear materialized in her hand. She gripped it and charged with a yell.  
I was starting to see why people had started calling it a jousting match.  
Mettaton smiled, then there was a groaning sound as the very walls of the building around us seemed to bend towards the two, Mettaton neatly dodging every thrust of Undyne's spear. Then one of the panels of the ceiling ripped off and split itself into four pieces, which then rolled themselves up and gained a sharp edge. I stared in awe as the pieces barreled towards Undyne in midair, blunt side facing her for now. In her frustration, the redhead hadn't noticed the objects, and the cheering of the crowd didn't help matters. Then she raised her head sharply, seeming to have heard something I didn't, saw the projectiles, and deftly sliced them out of the air. It wasn't much use, since Mettaton still had control over them, and they continues to harass her as she tried to very nearly impale Mettaton.  
Mettaton gave a little laugh and turned to the crowd to bow, seeming to consider himself the winner already. In the process, he lost control of the metal spikes for a moment, just as Undyne grabbed one by the tip to stop it from taking out her remaining eye. I could see blood trickle down from the palm of her hand to her wrist and down the rest of her arm, which was unprotected due to her wearing a black tank top. She hurled the spike at Mettaton, and it spun in the air until it was sideways, and hit him in the back of the head. He hit the ground, unconscious.  
Undyne yelled in triumph, and the crowd screamed and cheered. Undyne turned away from my direction and seemed to grin at something I couldn't see. Then she roughly nudged Mettaton with her heel and muttered something to him. He groaned and didn't move. Undyne looked like she wanted to kick him, but restrained herself.  
Someone came out and picked up Mettaton and brought him through a door at the other side of the arena. Undyne followed, wiping her bloodied hand on her tank top and letting her spear fade to nothingness.  
The arena fights continued. Papyrus fought at one point, but lost courtesy of his refusal to even scratch his enemy with the huge bones he summoned from the ground (where did they come from??), instead letting the small girl named Shyren dodge around them and make everyone's ears pop with her singing voice, which was pretty but could clearly be deadly if she wished it.  
At the end of the fights, we met up with everyone—Mettaton (now conscious, though constantly complaining that his head hurt), Undyne, Alphys (who kept chastising her for "grabbing the tip of the piece of metal and then wiping the blood from your hand on your tank top, do you know how hard it is to wash that stuff out of clothes?"), and Papyrus. Even Sans joined us, even though he claimed to have been 'too busy' to watch the fights (I highly suspected he may just have been sleeping). Asriel dragged me over to Toriel and introduced me formally.  
"Hello, Frisk," she said kindly, her mic thankfully off. "How have you enjoyed the school so far? Is there anything I can help you with?"  
'I love it here,' I signed, 'and no, I think I'm okay. I'll make sure to ask if I ever need anything, though.'  
"Oh good," Toriel smiled. "I would hate to think you're having a bad time here. Well, I have to leave now. Make sure nobody's vandalized something during the fights, you know. Have a lovely rest of your day!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I chose Undyne's last name off a random list of common surnames ok  
> also I've tried to get rid of that extra note at the end and it won't go away so it's gonna be there for a while


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> *(Smells like...)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IM SO LATE STAB ME WITH A RUSTY KNIFE.  
> I am sooooo sorry for pulling another 'no-time-for-writing' card, but it's actually legit this time! I've been super busy with stuff, and school starts on the sixth of September for me, so I might take more and more breaks without meaning to, and that upsets me because I really like writing this story!  
> Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. It's super late and I'll probably write like, two more to make up for lost time, so don't worry about the ending. All will be explained. (Also, the original summary was *(Smells like goats.), but there were only two mentions of goats in the end, so I ditched it and went for the speechless approach haha)

As we headed across the campus, Chara talked excitedly about how they hadn't seen such a great joust since last month, and Asriel reminded them that last month was literally the last time they'd seen a joust. They pouted and poked him with a mutter of "Perfectionist." Asriel and I exchanged a glance before bursting into giggles. Mine were soundless, of course, but with real happiness bubbling up in my belly, I didn't really notice, for once.  
"Hey!" Asriel said suddenly. "Did you know we keep animals here?"  
'Why? Do they have powers too?' I teased, still giggling a little bit.  
"Nope. It's mostly for the littler kids. Helps a little bit with responsibility and stuff. Plus, sooner or later, we all know we're gonna get some kind of goat whisperer here." Asriel chortled a little bit at the end.  
"Race you to the pens!" Chara yelped and bolted ahead of us. I could've sworn I faintly heard them yell "NYOOM."  
We managed to catch up to them, Asriel joking that Chara should join the track team. Chara actually punched him this time.  
When we got to the pens, which looked similar to a ranch, I saw a kid maybe a year older than me making awkward conversation with Shyren, from the joust. Their hair was bleach white and short and headphones hung around their neck, a thin cord trailing down and disappearing into the pocket of their baggy hoodie. As we approached, the two of them turned, and I got a better look at Shyren. Her hair was dark and shoulder-length and her bangs were styled to half-hide her right eye. She wore a simple t-shirt and a knee-length skirt, and her dark eyes widened in surprise at the sight of us. She shot a quick apology to the other kid before dashing away, evidently quite flustered.  
"Oh, uh, bye Shyren!" Asriel called after her half-heartedly. He turned and offered an apologetic smile to the white-haired kid.  
"It's okay…" they murmured, "She's really shy…not your fault…" they blinked at me with pale blue eyes and offered their hand. "I'm Napstablook…some people call me Blooky…no offense, but I'd rather you didn't…"  
I took it and shook it once before pulling out my phone. "Hello, N-A-P-S-T-A-B-L-O-O-K. My name is Frisk. Did you see the jousts earlier? I thought they were very exciting."  
Napstablook nodded. "Shyren did well, I think…I didn't have a very god seat…she told me she won, though…it's good that she's getting out and doing things…"  
"Yes," Asriel agreed, "Especially after…" he hesitated, and I looked at him questioningly.  
"The Falling." Chara said quietly. "After her sister Fell."  
"Yes…she still visits her…sometimes she comes back crying…" Napstablook murmured. "It's horrible what happened…I'm glad nobody I really knew Fell…"  
I looked around at all of them, confused. 'What is the Falling?' I signed to Asriel.  
"Oh. I guess we hadn't told you about that yet, had we?"  
'No.'  
Asriel sighed. "Come on. Let's get back to the dorms. We'll tell you about it there."  
"Let's just say," Chara said, "That we're not safe from everything here. Not sickness, and not failed experiments."  
A lump formed in my throat. 'Experiments?'  
"Treatments," Asriel corrected, "They were treatments." We were walking away now. I waved to Napstablook with a faint smile. They waved back before putting their headphones firmly back over their ears and petting one of the loudly bleating goats gently on the ears.  
"It was the first time they were tested. That makes them experiments." Chara shuddered. "I can't imagine doing something like that. I know it seemed like it worked at first, so that might have made sticking a needle into your arm easier in hindsight, but after they… eugh. I don't think I could live with the guilt."  
"She almost didn't." Asriel said quietly.  
'Will you guys actually please tell me what you're talking about?' I signed furiously, not caring that my hands were shaking. 'What happened to 'them?' Who is 'she?' Seriously.'  
"We're almost at the dorms. We'll tell you everything there, promise." Chara told me, patting my shoulder awkwardly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just realized how short this is eeeegh


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> *(Smells like madness.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!! I just wanted to say that PAST SELF-HARM IS MENTIONED IN THIS CHAPTER AND A SUICIDE ATTEMPT IS VERY HEAVILY IMPLIED. PLEASE, IF EITHER OF THESE TRIGGER YOU, DONT READ THIS. TAKE CARE OF YOURSELVES, LOVELIES.

As Chara, Asriel, and I walked through the halls of the Underground towards our dorms, I couldn't get what little they had said out of my head. I was so distracted that I bumped into Alphys, who had evidently been equally distracted, as she shrieked and dropped the papers she'd been holding.  
"Sorry! I'm s-sorry!" she yelped, scrambling to pick up her papers. I bent down to help, but she waved me off. I frowned slightly but allowed her to pick it up herself. As she straightened, clutching her papers to her chest, her sleeve slipped down her arm a few inches, and my stomach dropped as I got a momentary glimpse of her wrist. She quickly pulled it back up, not seeming to notice the stricken look on my face, before turning and hurrying in the opposite direction. I stared after her, noticing the dirty looks some of the other students hanging around in the halls threw at her. She seemed to almost shrink into her hoodie and continued along the hall.  
I whirled around to Chara and Asriel and stared at them too, asking without words or signing if I had really seen that.  
Chara sighed. "Let's just get to the dorm."  
Shaken, I followed the siblings the remainder of the way to the dorms. I stared at the floor, but I didn't see it.  
All I heard were her words to Undyne after the joust.  
All I saw were scars.

When we got to our dorm room, I climbed into the top bunk and flopped face-down on my pillow. I raised my hands above my head and managed to sign, 'Fill me in.'  
"Alright." Asriel said, and sat down heavily on his bed. Chara followed suit—the bunk bed creaked slightly as they leaned back.  
"About a year ago," Asriel began, "Students started getting sick. Nobody could figure out what they had caught, but we started calling it the Falling, because the first symptom was just falling down and not being able to get up.  
"At first, they quarantined the sick kids, because they thought it might pass through contact—shaking hands, hugging, kissing. Stuff like that. But after a while, it stopped spreading. Not even the people who were trying to cure them, giving them shots and everything, got sick. Then the second symptom started showing up." He paused, evidently unwilling to tell the next part.  
"They started melting." Chara blurted out. "Well, not really melting, but their skin sagged and started secreting this weird white gooey stuff, so it kind of looked like that. Everybody started panicking. Nobody had ever seen anything like it. Or heard of it. We did research and we called scientists and doctors. Nothing."  
"Then," Asriel interrupted, "Somebody suggested looking into genetics. This person thought, since non-powered people had never caught this disease, maybe it was exclusive to powered people—or more specifically, something in their DNA.  
"This person suggested taking blood samples from healthy students and compare them to non-powered people's blood. If there was anything different, it could mean that this disease was evolved to kill people with powers exclusively, and powered people's immune systems might not be strong enough to stop it."  
"She ended up looking into it herself. And she was right." Chara said. "And more than that, evidence suggested that the immune systems of powered people had the right antibodies to destroy the disease—they just didn't have enough. The obvious solution was blood transfusions."  
"They worked." Asriel said. "The transfusions. The kids stopped melting. They got better. But there was something that the student missed—there was something in the blood of powered people that made them more resilient, gave them more…" he searched for the word.  
"Determination." Chara said quietly. "But for whatever reason, too much of it sort of…overloaded something in the brain. They all went insane within a few months."  
"She blamed herself. The scientist. She wasn't the only one." Asriel said. "People started shoving her in the halls, stealing her stuff, embarrassing her in front of tons of people. They yelled at her when she made mistakes. It took its toll. She didn't like the world anymore. She started… hurting herself. Then one day, something pushed her over the edge. If her friend hadn't gone to see how she was doing…"  
I raised my head, sudden realization dancing through my head. Asriel looked me directly in the eyes and said six words.  
"You would never have met Alphys."  
My heart dropped into my stomach. I suddenly remembered the words of one of my foster fathers, seven years ago.

"You get attached to things too easily," he had told me as he stitched up the tear in the toy bear I had gotten as a surprise present just two days ago. "Really, this bear is totally unremarkable. Why do you love it so much?"  
'It's nice to me. It gives me someone to hug when I'm scared and someone to play with when I'm lonely. That's what friends are like. I don't want to lose my friends.' I had signed, just eight years old. 'Not ever.'

'She's better now?' It was a question, not a statement. I couldn't assume to know Alphys well enough to know how she was doing in terms of mental health.  
"Yeah. You know, Undyne was actually the one who… found her. It sort of forced them a little closer to each other, and a few months later they finally started dating. Undyne is good for her, I think. She needs support, which is exactly the kind of thing Undyne's good at giving." Asriel said quietly.  
Chara stretched in the bunk below. "Well, I don't know about you guys, but I'm sick of hearing about this depressing stuff. We've got half the day left with no class. I propose an anime marathon."  
"I heard about this one called Sword Art Online? How's that sound?" He turned to me expectantly. I am not ashamed to say that I had teared up when Sword Art Online was mentioned.  
'I already watched that, but if you'd like to cry your eyes out, be my guest.'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My friend looked over this chapter and told me to stop focusing on Alphys so much and I shit you not I got within three inches of her face and whispered "Mew Mew Kissy make me"  
> but seriously if you aren't cool with the Alphys Recognition(TM) then go read literally any other fanfiction, maybe your skeleton daddy will turn up all depressed and beat up in there  
> alsoiveneverseenSAOplsdontaskmequestionsaboutit  
> ALSO THE SCIENCE IS PROBABLY REALLY SKETCHY AND INNACURATE IN THIS AND I APOLOGIZE, IM NOT A SCIENTIST MY DUDES


	8. AN UPDATE. AND AN APOLOGY.

Hey.  
So, I know I haven't updated in a while.  
I'm really lacking ideas for the next chapter. And I'm really sorry about that.  
I was thinking maybe we could get a Papyrus chapter in. Finish the tour of the school.  
Then we could fast forward to the first day of actual class.  
I dunno, guys.  
School started a few weeks ago. It hasn't taken much of a toll on me, yet. But if I do start updating regularly again, they'll probably get less and less, well, regular.  
Again.  
Well, that's really all I have to say. Thank you guys for the nice comments and the kudos. It means a lot.  
Again, I'm sorry about being inactive. Maybe it hasn't been as much time as it feels like, but I feel really bad about it.  
See ya later.  
(P.S. I might, MIGHT, write a lil Harley Quinn/Poison Ivy fic if any of you are interested. Nothing long or complicated. Just some fluff.)

**Author's Note:**

> So to clear some things up before we launch into this long ass ride:  
> -Frisk is intersex  
> -Chara is nonbinary with female parts  
> -Alphys and Undyne are already dating when the story starts cause I know if I have them with a lot of romantic tension between them I'll feel obliged to start a whole subplot of getting them together and I don't want to deviate from the original plot too much


End file.
